Cardiff City Beat Fulham to Automatic Premier League Promotion Spot

Cardiff City will play Premier League football again in 2018-19 after they secured promotion to the top flight on the final day of the Championship season.

After a 0-0 draw at home to Reading, the club's official Twitter account confirmed Cardiff will join Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League:

The Bluebirds were vying with Fulham for the second automatic promotion spot on Sunday, with the latter needing to better the former's result to go up. However, a 3-1 loss at Birmingham City ended Fulham's hopes.

Instead, the London club will have to make do with a play-off spot. They will play Middlesbrough, who end the campaign in sixth. The other semi-final sees Aston Villa take on Derby County.

Former England international Gary Lineker praised the brilliant campaign put together by Cardiff:

As relayed by Football Away Days, the supporters invaded the pitch in celebration after the draw with Reading:

It was a day to remember for Cardiff, as manager Neil Warnock has led them to a promotion few would have predicted ahead of this term.

The Welsh outfit were relegated from the Premier League in 2014 after just one season and have floated around midtable in the second tier since. 

However, Warnock has transformed the club since his arrival in 2016 and further enhanced a reputation for getting sides up through the divisions. As noted by Sky Sports Statto, nobody has been more effective:

Given their modest resources in comparison to a lot of clubs in the top flight, staying up will be difficult for Cardiff.

However, Warnock has assembled a tenacious and talented squad of players. In defence, Sean Morrison and Sol Bamba have forged a tremendous partnership—Cardiff finished the season with the joint-best defensive record in the Championship—while Callum Paterson has thrived in midfield.

The Bluebirds have Kenneth Zohore up front, who is a big handful for defenders. Even so, he's only netted nine league goals this season; you feel the final third is where Cardiff will need to recruit well to ensure they're competitive against English football's elite.